Life well planned. The freeman foundation. By judy and Peter Blum Kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for americas neglected needs. And by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Laura i am Laura Trevelyan in new york city. This is bbc world news america. Dr. Fauci is trying to set the record straight in an interview. I have a great deal of confidence in what the u. K. Does , and if i came across differently, i apologize for that. Laura coronavirus cases explode here in the u. S. Nearly 3000 people died on wednesday. House officials warned that the worst may lie ahead. Off to belarus and armenia. There is trouble in russias backyard. For all of you watching on pbs and around the globe, welcome to world news america. President donald trump is said to be livid that the fda was the first to grant approval for the pfizer vaccine. The u. K. Announced yesterday that it will be the first country in the world to approve that vaccine meaning that vaccinations can begin next week. Dr. Anthony found she initially took a swipe at britain in an interview for cbs, dr. Fauci. If we had jumped over the hurdle to gain an extra week or week and a half, i think the credibility of our regulatory process would have been damaged. I love the brits. They are great scientists. They take the data from the Pfizer Company and instead of scrutinizing, they approved it. Laura after western criticism from across the atlantic and u. K. , dr. Fauci told me earlier that he apologizes for those comments and has the utmost respect for the u. K. And the scientific colleagues. First of all, there has been a misunderstanding. I am sorry, and i apologize for that. I have great faith in the Scientific Community and the regular cory the Regulatory Community in the u. K. Anybody who knows me knows that that is the case. The point hours trying to make, and i did not take it appropriate well. I do have confidence. It came out wrong. It was not the way that i meant it to be in the United States, there is such a considerable amount of tension of pushing back on the credibility of the safety and efficacy, that if we in the United States had done it as quickly as the u. K. Did, and that is no judgment on the way that the u. K. Did it. A window my statements did come across lookinghat way, that if we had for example approved it yesterday or tomorrow, there likely would have been pushed back on an already scrutinizing society that has really, i think, in some respects in the United States, too much skepticism about the process. When we had conversations, and i had just had a recent conversation with a u. K. Station, they said, we beat you to a. We won the race. I wanted to get the point, this is not a race where there is one winner and one good one and one bad one. It is a bunch of companies and a bunch of countries trying as best as possible to get vaccine to their citizens as quickly as they possibly can. We are trying to do that in the United States, our process is one that takes more time than was taken with the u. K. That is the reality. I did not mean to apply any sloppiness, even though it came up that way. I want to set the record straight that i have a great deal of confidence in what the u. K. Does both scientifically and from a regulatory standpoint. If i somehow came across a fully, i apologize for that. Laura dr. Fauci speaking to the bbc earlier. Here in the u. S. , the vaccine cannot come soon enough. All of the data is trending the wrong way. Not since the spring, where their summary deaths being reported. Wednesday was the deadliest yet. More than 100,000 americans are in hospital, a doubled number since the beginning of november. To give you a sense of how serious the death star. There are more deaths on wednesday than the deaths that japan has had in the entire pandemic. It is more people that have died than the attack on pearl harbor. This is approaching the number of people who died on september 11. Health officials said that the numbers will get worse before they get better. Were speaking now with dr. Emily baker. Do you think hospitals here in america and doctors have the capacity to cope with what is coming down the line . Thank you for having me, laura. I certainly hope that we have what it takes. All of us are very nervous about what the winter brings. We have seen a surge upon a search following the thanksgiving holiday. Hospitals are getting more strange. We are having flashbacks to what it was like over the summer. We are much more familiar with how to treat this virus. I think that we have formed a great deal of solidarity with each other, supporting each other through all of the different trials and tribulations. We are going to be there for everybody, no matter what happens. We are also hoping that americans are following all of the guidelines. Every little last bit helps. Laura to your point, the center for Disease Control says that nearly 20,000 americans could die during christmas week alone. If we all wear our masks and do our bit, that does not have to happen, does it . I think that is right. We have seen over and over again throughout the pandemic that we have a great deal of power as everyday citizens. Every decision that we make and have an impact not necessarily for us, but maybe for a neighbor, or utterly grand prairie. Poor elderly grain sprint. Or elderly grandparent. They are seeing a surge even with the thanksgiving travel that occurred. I think the public guidelines are there for a reason, and they have served us well. It has been a long year. The best we can do. We have to hunker down and get to these next few months until the vaccine star rolling out and taking effect. Laura when it comes to the vaccine, former president obama, bush, clinton, and dr. Fauci said that they would take the vaccine on tv to help Public Confidence in the vaccine. I think this could definitely help. I was pleased to see this. We are fighting an uphill battle with this criticism toward vaccines. Particularly about bees vaccines that were developed as such a rad ray. The public needs to be informed and the need to have their questions answered. The need to be conversations going on between patients and physicians to get out why people are so skeptical and answering their questions. The answers to some of these questions might be i dont know, and that is ok. But i think it is great that these respected Public Officials are going to be doing that. We have to do it on the ground as well. We are trying to educate patients day by day. I think apart from the logistical nightmare of distributing the vaccine and equitable manner which is a concern, the vaccine is also effective only if people take it. Laura dr. Baker, they do so much for joining us tonight. Thank you for having me. Laura there are modest moves in washington to bring muchneeded Economic Relief to millions of americans who are struggling and that pandemic. Lawmakers what is on the table for lawmakers making a decision about the bill . Both republicans and democrats agree that there should be more money given for Unemployment Benefits, with the pitch being for an additional 300 per week. During the last round of stimulus, saw that there was a last there was an additional 600 of Unemployment Benefits to americans who needed it. They are also talking about increased aid to state and local government when it comes to distribution of the vaccines and more money for Small Businesses you are really bearing the brunt of this economic crisis. Laura the milliondollar question is, cant republicans and democrats in washington agree . What is a Senate Majority leader saying about all this . According to mitch mcconnell, he says that in order for there to be some sort of deal, and he is very confident that a deal could come, it would require democrats to come closer to where the republicans are, in terms of what they are proposing. Just like months before, when we are talking about this before the president ial election, we see that both republicans and democrats are divided in terms of how much money they want to end. Republicans are talking about a 500 billion bill, and immigrants talking about a 900 billion dollar bill. Democrats are talking about a 900 billion bill. Laura what is the scale . It is getting more and more dire for everyday americans. Tomorrow, we are going to get more Economic Data showing how difficult the economic recovery is. We are going to see more in terms of joblessness numbers. We have seen some increases or economic benefits, economic recovery, but it is just going to get worse because of what we are seeing. There are cities that are locking down again because the virus continues to spread. Laura thank you so much for that analysis. As President Trump enters his final weeks in office, the relationship between washington and beijing has become increasingly tense. Trump administration is toughening these are roles for Chinese CommunistParty Members coming to america. The u. S. Director of National Intelligence says that china is the greatest threat to democracy and freedom since the second world war. We are now speaking with a u. S. Correspondent. Will beijing see the comments of an outgoing u. S. Administration trying to box in the incoming one . This comment would not go down well in beijing. This is not the first time for washington to make similar allegations, accusing beijing of economic espionage. I expect that beijing will reject the notion that china was to be the dominant force of the world, at the same time, there may not be any substantial retaliation. China is closely and patiently watching the u. S. Government transition. Although beijing may not expect a complete reset of the relations under the biden administration, there is hope that biden and the new white house may approach the china issue with less direct confrontation. Laura how about these visa restrictions on the chinese elites. How much will those hurt . It is going to hurt greatly. The new visa rule is targeting Chinese CommunistParty Members and their family. Right now if you have a chinese passport and you apply for aqs tourist visa, you get a 10 year visa with multiple inches. This is the usual case. But the new law has proposed changes visa to a onemonth, valid, single entry visa. It will hurt the elite class that has been traveling between the two countries. It is hard to tell how this rule can be enforced. There are still questions whether it will be as effective as it seems on paper. Laura is there any prospect of a kind of reset in the relations come january . Nobody is expecting the u. S. China relations to go back to 2016. There are talks that biden might approach the chinese policy with a better understanding of the russian ship. And lots of talks have been better understanding of the relationship. Without trying to trick china in this race. We have to wait and see how biden can inherit a trump policy and come up with a more cooperative strategy. Laura thank you so us. In other news, Facebook Says it will remove false claims about covid19 vaccines and that coming weeks. The social media giant says that it is already taken down false claims about the treatment of the virus. It is not clear if similar posts will be removed from whatsapp. Thousands of unaccompanied minor children might have suffered damage to their health. Save the children estimates at least 2000 minors made long crossings in the past two months to gambia. Bangladesh has started to move hundreds of refugees. Aid agencies say that it is flood prone. The government wants to really kate relocate refugees. The move has been described a shortsighted and inhumane. You are watching bbc world news america. Still to come, jimmy li has been denied. His case is not due to be heard until april. Half a million south korean studen are taking the annual exam. 35 coronavirus patients will take the exam from their hospital beds while others are in selfquarantine. It is believed that the test result will not only determine which university you will go to but also future Job Opportunities and marriage prospects as well. The test is a huge stress to them, but because of the coronavirus pandemic, the situation has not been easier for the students. They have been going in and out of school for the whole year. This test itself has been postponed by two weeks. The government hasnt quite a lot of things has done quite a lot of things to safely conduct this national exam. Students will have to wear the mask at all times. Before they enter the customs, they will have to get their temperatures checks. Get their temperatures checked. Laura for vladimir putin, it is not just the coronavirus pandemic that is making 2028 south year. 2020 a tough year. Moscow correspondent looks at what these dramatic events mean for russias sphere of influence. Correspondent across russias former empire, we are seeing seismic change. In belarus, there is challenge to the dictator who is being propped up by moscow. To the south, armenia and azerbaijan have been at war. And then a revolution in kyrgyzstan. The new president in october in mountova. This is one huge headache for the reader. Moscows zone of influence. Here in the south caucasus where russia has been the major power, for 200 years, today, it has competition from turkey. In the war over nagornokarabakh , it was turkish support that helped azerbaijan defeat russias traditional ally, armenia. I think what happened in nagornokarabakh is the catastrophe for moscows influence because of what remains of the space. Moscows grip on the region is becoming weaker. Correspondent we talked to the russian peacekeepers here. They seem wary of turkeys traditions intentions. Traditional, russia has maintained stability here. The peacekeeper says that when other countries like turkey try to destabilize the situation, we try to keep them peaceful. Having the Russia Military here helps do that. In this former part of the empire, moscow has a rival now, as turkey seizes to boost its influence in this region. And for moscow, the geopolitical challenges extend far beyond these hills. [applause] in moldova, a prowestern candidate has defeated a russia candidate. Moldova is one of the poorest countries in europe. Its close proximity to romania make it inevitable stage four eastwest rivalry. Recently, russia accused america of plotting a revolution here. Our objective is to get closer to the eu and when they become a member of the european union. Correspondent lester let that happen and let your country joined the eu . It is our choice. In the end, it is the sovereign decision of our country and the republic of mao joba republic of moldova. Correspondent russia still has some influence and slowing down change in all parts of the ussr. But russia is changing as well. It is on a journey from empire to nationstate. Laura Steve Rosenberg reporting there. Change comes to russias backyard. The Hong Kong Media mogul and founder of the apple daily newspaper jimmy lai is being detained until april. He repeatedly denounced beijings increasing controls over hong kong. Reporter this is the moment that billionaire media mogul jimmy lai was taken into custody. That was before his detention. He spoke extensively to the bc. The 73yearold is under investigation for violating the National Security law. A sense that he may be living on brought time. They can induce fear and you, the easiest, cheapest way to control you. And it is the most effective way. They know it, and they are very good at it. Reporter in august, mr. Lai became one of the highest profile arrests. More than 200 please raided his newspaper, confiscated documents sent to implicate him for fraud. National security charges mean that he could face life in prison. Jimmy lai has long been an outspoken critic of beijing. His paper apple daily as hong kong most critical bestselling newspaper. Mr. Lai is seen as a rebellious face of dissent. His attention is seen as a warning. His detention is seen as a warning. Hong kong is facing unprecedented cracked on. Yesterday, 24yearold joshua wong was sentenced for 34 months in prison. L jimmyai jimmy lai continued to campaign after his arrest. What all three have other than the free world on our side . What else do we have then the free world on our side . They will be on our side. We are showing the same value. They know that we are fighting in the frontier for that value. If we lose, that means that the defeat of the value system. Reporter jimmy lai was tenically detained because of charges related to fraud. He was denied bail. The law is now silence and dissent. When you to send a message to all of the home long people that we have to silence oursees we cannot be silen anymore. Reporter the government has accused mr. Lai of colluding with foreign forces. It has brought security to the city that was once engulfed with violent protests. Activists say that was once and hong kong cannot be punishable with life imprisonment. Laura before we go, decorating the Christmas Tree is a much loved tradition for many of us including the mccord the Mccormick Family in australia. They discovered that a koala was hanging on their tree. They quickly caught a home Animal Rescue group. Imagine finding a koala as a christmas decoration. I know that my kids would love it. I am a lawyer trevelyan i am Laura Trevelyan. Thank you fo narrator funding for this presentation of this program is provided by. Language specialists teaching spanish, french and more. Raymond james. The freeman foundation. By judy and Peter Blum Kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for americas neglected needs. And by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. [bright music] pbs american portrait is. A platform where anyone can come and share their stories. Theres a whole great list of prompts to get you started. When i was 18 and joined the marine corps. When i de